§ 117830 Local Medical Waste Enforcement

• •If a local government (like a city or county) decides to handle medical waste rules, they are in charge of enforcing those rules in their area.
• •If a local government does not handle medical waste rules, the state department takes over and enforces the rules instead.
• •Even if a local government or the state is in charge, lawyers like district attorneys can still take action if someone breaks the medical waste rules.

A hospital in a small town throws away medical waste, like used needles, in the regular trash instead of following the special rules.

If the town has its own medical waste program, the town’s officials will be the ones to check and punish the hospital. If the town does not have its own program, the state will step in and handle the problem. Either way, the local lawyer (like a district attorney) can also decide to take the hospital to court for breaking the rules.